Compass No 441 - November 2016

From the Principal

Farewell and Thank You

Over this week, Year 12 students have engaged in a variety of final activities including a thank you breakfast for the teachers and farewells from Pastoral Care Groups before celebrating their graduation this evening, closing chapel tomorrow and formal tomorrow night.

It has been a privilege to grow with these young people. We thank them for their leadership, enthusiastic spirit, good humour, service and commitment. We thank the Year 12 parents for their contribution and their faith in us. Together as parents, staff and students, we have grown with each other as individuals, in our relationships and as a learning community. We thank our Year 12 students and parents for all they have given. We are proud of who our Year 12 students have become as young men and women. God bless and grow deep so that you can continue to be a blessing to many.

Principal's Log

The performances of Mulan last Saturday were thoroughly entertaining and showcased the depth of talent in our Year 3-7 students. The clever direction by Mrs Laura Bonner and talented performances, took us on a journey into Ancient China where we learned the story of Mulan, which was originally told in the form of an ancient Chinese ballad. We congratulate all students on their performances and thank student director Alexandra Whitmore and Year 10 and 11 students Ally Hickey, Olivia Cameron, Scarlet Hopkins, Claire Southern, Charlotte Sorrell and Charlotte Empson who assisted with makeup and backstage. We also thank Director Mrs Laura Bonner, Musical Director Miss Anita Morton and their team of Miss Jenna-Maree Woodforth, Mrs Tracy Hickey, Mr Steven Healy, Ms Nell Keen, Mrs Sonia Boland, Mrs Anna Maher, Mrs Sue Zweck, Mrs Tanya Crooks and Mrs Janine Stone.

The Year 7 students enjoyed competing amongst 48 teams at the FIRST Lego League competition at Grace Lutheran College on Sunday. The students were excited to be part of the challenge and performed well. The energy of the day has inspired them to continue to grow their skill and understanding in the area of robotics. We congratulate the students and thank them and leaders Mr Andrew Block and Mrs Toni Fisher for the considerable time they have given in preparation for this competition.

On Tuesday, we were privileged to have four-time Olympian and Australian Flag bearer, Anna Meares, as our special guest at our two Sports Awards ceremonies. Anna gave an inspirational speech to each of the groups and students were honoured to have her present their medals to them. It has been a highly successful year for sport and we thank our students, teachers and coaches for the time they have given. We particularly thank our Physical Education staff very capably led by Mr Mark Hauser, Mr Darren Hooper and Mrs Natalie Campbell.

On Tuesday night, an enthusiastic group of parents came together for the Annual General Meeting of the Friends of Pacific. To support a smooth transition of leadership, a number of the incumbent members of the Executive have stood aside from key positions but will continue on the committee into the future. We thank outgoing President Mrs Tracey Hindmarsh for her calm and encouraging leadership over the past four years where she has fostered an effective and engaging committee to lead parent activities. We also thank outgoing Vice President Mrs Allyson Sarvari who has been tireless in her commitment to leading a range of activities including the BBQ team over many years, Mrs Kath Barry who has brought her professional skills to be a highly effective secretary, Mrs Mel Pollack who has very professionally led our OCEANfest with passion and to Mrs Sanet Strong who has been generous in her time as Treasurer. We thank all of our committee members including outgoing members Mrs Sophie McKenzie and Mrs Karen Petfield for their leadership and considerable service to the community. We congratulate and wish our new committee of President Mrs Jenny Lee, Vice President Mrs Esta Styles, Secretary Mrs Deni Fowler, Treasurer Mrs Penni Buchanan and committee members Mrs Tracey Hindmarsh, Mrs Kath Barry, Mrs Allyson Savari, Mrs Mel Pollack, Mr Ian Barnes, Mrs Sarah Dent, Mrs Julie Hoffman and Mrs Leah Croke all the best for what looks to be an exciting year of community connection next year.

Earlier this month, our Head of Business Education, Mr Wes Warner, was invited to attend a Top Contributors Summit at the new Google offices in Singapore. At the Summit, Mr Warner had the opportunity to learn from ‘Googlers' about G Suite for Education and how to best leverage their tools to increase collaboration between students and staff. Mr Warner was the only Queensland representative to attend the Summit.

We pray a prayer of thanks for our Year 12 students and families and pray that God will continue to equip them to grow and make a difference through who they are and what they do. We pray that God will keep them and all Year 12 students safe.

Dr Bronwyn Dolling, Principal

Important Notices

2017 School Fees

The College Council has set the fees for the 2017 school year, being mindful of keeping fee increases as low as possible to ensure that Pacific remains accessible for families who value the Lutheran ethos and rich culture of learning that grows young people across every dimension of their lives. For 2017, the fees will increase by 2.4% overall. The Year 6, 9 and 10 resource levies will also increase to take account of increased costs of the Year 6 Canberra Tour and the two-week Outdoor Education experience that Year 9 and 10 students will be completing next year. The overall increase of 2.4% is largely due to the increased salary costs of staff. Families are reminded that Pacific fees are fully inclusive of all activities at the College to enable families to budget for the year.

A reminder that the Middle / Senior College Closing Service is on Tuesday 29th November at The Events Centre, Caloundra. Students are required to wear their full winter formal uniform for the service. Students are to arrive at 6.00pm and report to their PCG teachers for roll marking and further instructions. This is an important community event and Year 6-11 students are expected to attend. If students are unable to attend, we ask that parents notify their Head of House:

From the College Pastor

Advent

Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield
its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains.
You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. (James 5:7-8)

Is Christmas all about Santa Claus and Christmas trees? Is it about shopping and indulging in too much food? Is it about rushing around doing all those last minute things on your ‘to do’ list? Is it about getting to all those Christmas parties and social events? We all know that Christmas is much more than this; it is about celebrating the birth of Jesus. But the reality is, we all get caught up in these sorts of activities at this busy time of the year. This busy time of the year, which many Christians call ‘advent’.

Advent is the four week period prior to Christmas when we are encouraged to stop and wait. We carve out some holy time and wait for the coming of Jesus into the world. We wait for a child born into poverty, a child who will save the world. Just as the pregnant Mary waited for Jesus to arrive in her life, we too must wait for his arrival in our lives. We pause in the middle of our busyness, to listen to the voice of God. We wait to welcome Jesus into our hearts and lives. Are you ready to take some time out of the end of year rat race, to pause and wait for Jesus? Do you have the patience to wait for the coming of Jesus into your life this Christmas?

Prayer: Give us the strength Lord Jesus to get through our busy end of year activities. Bless us with patience as we wait for your coming into our world. Amen.

First Communion

Pastors Tim Jarick and Ray Morris will be leading a First Communion course during Term 1 next year for any school families who have children turning 10 or 11 this year. If you have a young person who is baptised and is interested in receiving Holy Communion, please email or phone Pastor Tim (tjarick@pacluth.qld.edu.au 5436 7353) for more information. The course will start on Ash Wednesday, 1st March 2017.

Pastor Tim Jarick, College Pastor

From the Director of Students

Thank You

As this is my last newsletter article of the year, I would like to thank the Pastoral Care team of Miss Kim Stone, Pastor Tim Jarick, Mr David Druery, Mrs Melissa Evans, Mrs Leigh Drogemuller and Dr Peter McMahon for all their hard work this year. It is wonderful to work with such a professional team who fully support the academic and emotional growth of our students. Schools play an important role in supporting, protecting and empowering young people. At Pacific, the Pastoral Care team play a key role in helping all staff walk with and growing our students.

I would also like to thank the Positive Education team of Mr David Druery, Mrs Sarah Atkinson, Mrs Leigh Drogemuller, Miss Kim Stone, Mrs Annie Williams, Mr Duncan McNee, Pastor Tim Jarick, Mrs Tanya Crooks and Mrs Michiko Hauser for their work this year in helping to grow the wellbeing of students including their resilience, self-reflection and service of others. One of the core aims of Positive Education is for individuals to flourish; that they have greater wellbeing, a greater sense of purpose and more life satisfaction. This aim has always been at the core of Lutheran Education and Positive Education will help continue the growing of young people into confident, grateful adults.

Mr Brendan Delaney, Director of Students

From the Head of Staff and Students P-5

Year 4-6 Sports Awards

On Tuesday, Year 4-6 students attended their Sports Awards ceremony. Congratulations to all students who received recognition for participation and achievements in sports throughout the year. Olympic cyclist and medal winner, 2016 Olympic flag bearer and arguably Australia’s greatest female track cyclist, Anna Meares, presented the awards and spoke passionately to the students regarding her own journey and the value and importance of their involvement in sport. A special thank you to Mr Darren Hooper for his direction and organisation of Year 4-6 sport throughout the year. We also acknowledge Mr Hooper, Mr Mark Hauser and Mrs Natalie Campbell for coordinating a very professional and enjoyable sports presentation this week.

P-2 Swimming

Prep – Year 2 swimming continues on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday next week. If your child is attending swimming early in the day, please ensure they arrive at the College by 8.30am for an 8.35am departure. Students should come to school in their swimmers and with sunscreen already applied (sunscreen will also be available at the College for students to use). It is highly recommended that students also wear a ‘rashie’ and that girls with long hair wear a swimming cap.

Hats

A number of students are presenting to school each day without hats. During break times, students need to wear a hat or they are required to stay out of the sun. Students should also wear their hats when travelling to and from the College. We ask all parents/guardians to please ensure that children are bringing/wearing a hat to school each day.

Upcoming Events

Carols Night

On Friday 25th November, the annual Carols Night will be held in the gym, starting at 5.00pm. Food will be available for purchase following the concert. A flyer providing further details will be sent home next week.

P-5 End of Year Service

On Monday 28th November, the Prep – Year 5 End of Year Service will be held in the gym, starting at 9.15am. At the service, Academic Excellence and Endeavour awards will be presented to students across Years 3-5. The service also marks an important transition for Year 5 students who will move into the Middle College next year. All parents and family members are most welcome to attend this important event. An invitation providing further details will be sent home next week.

Library News

All library books need to be returned next week for stocktake. Once students have returned all of this year’s books, they can then borrow as many books as they wish for the holidays.

International Games Day

This Saturday is International Games Day. To celebrate, the library has been running a number of board games and puzzles in the library foyer and outdoor space. Lunchtimes have been filled with students challenging each other and having fun.

Ms Nell Keen, Teacher Librarian

Secondary College

FIRST Lego League

Last Sunday, two teams of excited Year 7 students, the Pacific Primes and the Pacific Professors, travelled to Grace Lutheran College to participate in the FIRST Lego League (FLL) tournament. This year, the tournament grew to have 48 teams from all over Queensland and northern New South Wales competing.

The tournament involved three sections: the robot game where teams accumulate points by completing a series of challenges by programming their robots, a research project where students present their findings to a panel of judges and a design component where students are quizzed on their designs and programming abilities.

The tournament encouraged fun, cooperation, teamwork and being gracious to fellow competitors. The students involved were outstanding in the way they conducted themselves and in the way in which they worked together, in particular, as teams willingly shared their ideas and designs with each other.

At the completion of the tournament, after three rounds of the robot game, both Pacific teams finished in the top 12. This was an outstanding achievement given that many of the other teams consisted of students from Year 9.

Cultural News

Next week, a Year 3-4 Strings Concert will be held on Tuesday 22nd November. The concert will commence at 1.45pm under the Year 4 building. Violins and violas will be returned after the concert.

Mrs Helen Williams, Music Teacher

Secondary Sport

Year 7-10 SCISSA Soccer

This week was the final round of the Year 7-10 SCISSA soccer competition. Thank you to all the players for their commitment and representing the College well. It was a pleasure to see the improvement, teamwork, commitment and growth from all of our teams. A special thanks to Mrs Leah Croke, Mr Brendan Delaney and Mr Duncan McNee for their efforts with the teams as well.

The Junior Girls played against St Andrew’s Anglican College (SAAC) in a semi final match, to see who would make it through to the grand finals. The girls played well, however at the final siren, suffered a narrow defeat 1-0.

The Junior Boys needed to win their final game (also against SAAC) to have the best chance of proceeding in the competition, as the final placing was dependent on the results of another match. Unfortunately, the boys also went down to SAAC in a tough match. The boys had an exceptional season and grew in confidence and ability week on week.

Unfortunately for the Intermediate Boys, their game against Suncoast Christian College was not played this week, due to an opposition forfeit. In a similar situation to the Junior Boys, Pacific needed the win (which we got) plus a favourable result in another schools’ match to make finals next week. As the table stands, it looks like all three of our Pacific teams finished in third place overall this year. A commendable effort for all. Congratulations again and we look forward to seeing you all play again in 2017!

Year 4-12 Sports Awards

This week was a huge week for the College as all students from Years 4-12 gathered to celebrate the success of sporting programs throughout the year. We were extremely fortunate to have Australian champion, Olympic flag-bearer, dual Olympic gold medallist and all-round superstar, Anna Meares, in attendance as our guest of honour to present the awardees with their medallions.

Anna was truly an inspiration to our students and staff alike and it was a memorable opportunity for all involved; one that we will all remember for the rest of our lives. We thank Anna for giving up her own time, in the midst of a very hectic schedule, to attend our awards and for meeting some of our staff and students! I would also like to thank Mrs Tracey Brown and her family for liaising with us to accommodate Anna’s visit. Her help was invaluable in making this possible.

Congratulations to all who received premiership awards, coaches awards and MVP awards. Well done to all who gave up their time to represent the school in sport throughout the year, in one of our most successful years of sport to date.

We look forward to seeing as many athletes joining teams again in 2017.

Returning Sport Uniforms

As the year is winding down and most sport seasons are finished, it is important that all students return their playing uniforms at the end of each season. Rather than us chasing up individual students, it would be greatly appreciated if everyone had a good look through their wardrobes and handed in any Pacific uniforms. Please pass these on to Mrs Natalie Campbell at the sports aide office opposite the tuckshop. Students who do not return uniforms will have the cost billed to their fees at the end of the year.

SCISSA Sport 2017

2017 will be upon us before we know it and our Term 1 SCISSA competitions will begin in Week 2 next year. As such, students who are currently in Years 6-11 are asked to sign up for their Term 1 SCISSA teams by the end of next week.

The following teams are available (2017 year levels):

Year 7/8 boys and girls volleyball;

Year 9/10 boys and girls volleyball; and

Year 11/12 boys and girls soccer.

Games will be played on Wednesday afternoons at either 4.00pm or 4.45pm. College buses are provided for away games. Anyone who is interested in playing must see Mr Mark Hauser as soon as possible.

Mr Mark Hauser, Head of Sport

PLC Club Sport

Pacific Soccer – Free Come and Try Sessions

Pacific Soccer, in conjunction with the Brisbane Roar, is running Free Come and Try Sessions for Prep-Year 3 students at Pacific. We particularly welcome new players who wish to come and have a go under the supervision of the Brisbane Roar coaches.

The first of the sessions kicks off during lunchtime, this coming Tuesday 22nd November. Click here to download the flyer and permission slip. To book a free place, please return the permission slip to the Junior College office. Places are limited to the first 35 registrations. Hats and water bottles are needed.

Our Kindy and Early Learning Centre are also participating in the sessions from 1.35pm – 2.00pm as part of their incursion program.

Welcome to another season of PLC Netball, yes it will be here before you realise. As the newly elected President, I consider it appropriate to provide you some thoughts on the committee’s perspective as to where PLC Netball fits into the wider educational program at Pacific.

Firstly, I would like to thank the out-going committee for their efforts, as without their dedication and support, we would not have enjoyed the success that we have.

We have enjoyed on court success and are aiming to develop our support structures and connections with the wider College community. My aim as President is to work with the committee and the College to foster an environment where the PLC Netball Club is seen as an integral part of your child’s educational experience. Sport provides a valuable opportunity to develop leadership, confidence, comradery and the life skills of being gracious in victory and having dignity in defeat. I see these attributes as foundation qualities that will enable our daughters to mature into self-assured and confident young women.

To this end, I see my role as President as fostering the wider principles of the College within the club. This goal will be based on nurturing an environment built on these five core principles:

Focus - To concentrate on our role within our team and club to contribute to positive outcomes, not just winning;

Fun - For the parents, siblings and teammates to share in the joy of our children’s development;

Family - To foster and develop friendships within PLC Netball community that extend into the wider Pacific community;

Faith - To have faith in our teammates, coaches, managers, parents and the committee; and

Fitness - To foster healthy bodies and minds.

The PLC Netball Club’s ‘core’ season runs from March to September and is open to students from Year 2 upwards (must be turning eight (8)). Games are held on Saturday mornings and run for one hour at programmed intervals throughout the morning. With warm-up and after match activities, your total commitment is for approximately two hours a week. Games are held at the Caloundra Indoor Sports Centre on North Street. Training is conducted immediately after school on school grounds and is programmed by the team managers on a mutually agreeable basis. Training normally goes for one hour.

Financially, PLC Netball has the lowest fees of the Caloundra based clubs and the committee is dedicated to keeping costs to a minimum. Our commitment is that the cost of our 2017 registration will be cheaper than the 2016 season of $195.00. Including trials, there were 17 rounds during the 2016 season so that works out at approximately $11.50 per game.

As the committee’s first step in reaching out to the community we seek your assistance. Whilst the formal registration process will occur in February 2017, I would ask that if your daughter would like to participate in competitive netball, could you please provide an expression interest via an email to coltont@iinet.net.au or via text to 0409 59 22 39 at the earliest opportunity. Your expression of interest is non-binding, but it would allow the committee to begin planning teams, recruiting players and will provide a means by which we can keep you informed.

For those families who are joining the Pacific community and have children who already play for other clubs, I would ask that you consider joining our netball community. Having recently moved to Pacific myself, the extracurricular activities at the College have provided a wonderful opportunity to assist our transition into the community. I offer the same invitation for past players and families. It would be wonderful to see your smiling faces again.

Finally, for the parents who would like to take a more active role in their children’s development, there are still opportunities to assist either on the committee, as a coach or as a team manager. Any assistance on this front would be greatly appreciated.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask and I look forward to working with you all during the upcoming season.

Mr Trevor Colton, President PLC Netball Club

Uniform Shop

End of Year Closure and January Assistance

This year, the uniform shop will close on Friday 25th November at 9.30am.

If you are able to assist in the uniform shop from 16th – 20th January next year, please contact Mrs Peta King directly on 5436 7349. There are two timeslots to be filled each day: 8.00am – 12.00pm or 12.00pm – 4.00pm. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

Opening Hours and Online Ordering

The Uniform Shop is open from 8.00am to 9.30am every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Church News

St Mark's Lutheran Church Caloundra

Pastor Ray Morris, St Mark’s Lutheran Church Caloundra

General Notices

Performance - 'That's Not Santa!'

These holidays, ‘That’s Not Santa’ will be performed at the Kawana Forest Meeting Place. 3bCREATIVE - Play Up! performances aim to engage children and families at a community level with quality age appropriate content.

‘That’s Not Santa’ is suitable for ages 3-10 (adults love it too) and is an original, funny and interactive performance for children written by early childhood educators and performed by professional actors.